1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of impact crushers and, more particularly, to a center feed disk for an impact crusher that, after a first side surface has become worn, can be inverted to make use of an opposing, second side surface for operating the impact crusher.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There are a wide variety of impact crushers currently employed to reduce the size of large earth materials to smaller sized aggregate. Typically, a flow of large earth materials is dropped or fed onto a rotating feed disk that, using centrifugal force, disperses the large earth materials through the impact crusher onto crushing components. Generally, the crushing components include impeller shoes and anvils that are radially positioned about the feed disk. In any event, impact crushers reduce large aggregate earthen materials to aggregate sizes and shapes to meet the needs of, for example, the construction industry as ingredients for cement and the like.
The components of an impact crusher that are exposed to a material flow are subject to wear. The wear is essentially caused by abrasion, decomposition, fracture, impact, grinding and the like. In general, the wear results from the velocity, acceleration and composition of the material flow that is directed onto the components of the impact crusher. Over time, the wear reaches a point which mandates that one or more of the impact crusher components be replaced. One component that is prone to wear is the feed disk. A typical feed disk can process about 2,500 tons of material before becoming worn and in need of replacement. Thus, in an impact crusher that can process 42 tons of material an hour, the average life of a feed disk would be approximately 60 hours. Accordingly, every 60 hours or so, the feed disk must be replaced. As only one surface of the feed disk is usable, the costs associated with feed disk replacement are high.
Based on at least these reasons, there exists a need in the art for a feed disk that has a longer service life. More specifically, there exists a need in the art for a feed disk that can be inverted so that both surfaces of the disk can be used in operating the impact crusher before the disk is discarded.